Ford Motor Co. in Dearborn has unveiled the 2027 Bronco RTR, a motorsports-inspired version of the SUV developed in conjunction with RTR Vehicles and its founder, racer Vaughn Gittin Jr.
Bronco RTR was designed to make high-performance off-roading as accessible as it is exciting, according to Ford.
“We’ve taken the championship-winning expertise from RTR and baked it into a truck that stays within reach for the average enthusiast,” says Ed Krenz, chief program engineer for Bronco. “It’s about democratizing high-speed performance.”
The vehicle was designed to focus on the kind of high-speed desert performance that’s traditionally belonged to the automaker’s Stroppe and Raptor. It does so with a high-clearance suspension and standard 33-inch tires — a combination never offered on a Bronco before, providing off-road capability that’s distinct from other members of the Bronco family.
“Bronco has great racing heritage to take inspiration from, and Raptor has blazed a trail in high-speed off-roading that customers love,” says Loren Healy, an off-road racer who helped develop the Bronco RTR. “We kept those things in mind with Bronco RTR.
“But we know that some performance enthusiasts can’t necessarily afford a Bronco Raptor. That was our brief developing Bronco RTR: Find a sweet spot for high-speed off-road performance and make it a great value for thrill-seeking Bronco owners. It sits in a really unique place in the Bronco lineup.”
Drivers who want to push even harder can upgrade to the Sasquatch package, which includes the HOSS 3.0 suspension with FOX Internal Bypass Dampers as standard equipment.
A standard Bronco RTR has a four-door body and 2.3-liter EcoBoost engine with 10-speed automatic. In the dunes, its lighter front end makes the Bronco RTR “dance” over the sand rather than digging into it, making it feel more like a desert pre-runner than a traditional rock crawler.
The turbocharged 2.3-liter engine is ripe for upgrades. Ford upgraded it for high-speed off-road driving by taking the 1,000-watt cooling fan from the Bronco Raptor. And added its software-operated, race-derived anti-lag system. That gives Bronco RTR the instant thrust needed when powering out of a soft sand wash and can’t afford to wait for the turbo to spool up.
The vehicle features a new grille with RTR signature lighting, Bronco RTR-specific Evo 6 wheels, and heritage-inspired wheel arches provide subtler details. These details, along with the available Avalanche Gray paint, give Bronco RTR the tools it needs to stand out on the trail.
